


cross country trek

by supportingcharacters (orphan_account)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, a day late oop, jeaneren week 2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1416058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/supportingcharacters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean wakes up at 2am to Eren Jaeger in his car outside, beeping his horn and insisting that he wants to go to the beach. Unfortunately, living in a landlocked state, it's one hell of a long journey to the ocean. Made even longer by the fact that you'll be spending that time in a confined space with Eren (though maybe, that's not a bad thing). </p>
<p>
  <a href="http://jaegerschtein.tumblr.com/post/73199433530/art-source-jeaneren-week-this-is-a">JeanEren Week Day 4:  Free Space - Road Trip!AU</a>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	cross country trek

un

He doesn’t even remember what he had been dreaming about, only that it was a good dream. A peaceful dream, that left a wistful taste in his mouth. A blissful dream; rudely interrupted by the car horn cutting through the silence.

The evening was warm, so Jean had slept with his bedroom window opened. The blare of the horn wakes him up immediately; he jumps awake, disorientated for a moment. He tries to scramble out of bed _– what the heck is happening, where is he?_ Tries to stand up, but the blankets he had thrown off of his body during the night tangle around his feet, and he falls out of his bed.

Thankfully, the hand is taken off of the horn, and there is silence once again. Jean presses his forehead against the floor, waiting for his brain to catch up with his body. He’s at home; it’s summer vacation. One year of college over him. No wonder he’s disorientated, being back in his old room; he has only been home a week, after all.

The horn blasts again, this time for longer. Jean tilts his head, still lying on his floor. He can see the LED clock on his bedside table; the green digits flash 2:04 am. He silently curses, praying that the honking will stop.

And it does.

He exhales slowly, struggling to remember his dream. It’s fruitless; the snatches of the dream slip through his fingers like sand. He’s still half-asleep, and all Jean wants is to crawl back into his bed. Which is exactly what he does; he stands up and is about to climb in when that fucking car horn starts up all over again.

He curses, standing up and going over to his open window and sticking his head outside. The night is cloudless, and he can see the moon, but it’s difficult to see the stars. Probably, he notes, due to all the fucking light pollution.

He looks down at the street, and in the light of the streetlamps he’s able to make out an all-too-familiar car. There’s a tightening in his chest, and the door on the driver’s side clicks open. And what do you fucking know; there he is, Eren fucking Jaeger. He climbs out of the car, lips tugging upwards into his rugged smile when he sees Jean; grumpy and grouchy and fresh from bed.

“Finally!” he mutters, as if he hasn’t just fucking woken Jean up from a peaceful night’s sleep at two am in the fucking morning. “Nice bedhead, Kirschtein.”

If steam started to pour from Jean’s nose, he wouldn’t be fucking surprised.

“What the fuck, Eren.” It’s not even a question, just a statement.

Eren grins back up at him. “Let me in?” he calls up.

“You must be joking.”

“Aw, come on!”

“Do you know what fucking time it is?”

“Early, I guess? Who cares, it’s not like you’re doing anything in the morning, right?”

The light turns on in a window across the street. “Shut the hell up, some people are trying to get some damn sleep!” comes a voice. Jean winces; old Mrs. Wagner never forgets a thing. “Quieten down out there, or I’ll call the cops!”

Jean’s thankful he has the house to himself that night. His mother works the night shifts at the hospital, and his little sister is at a slumber party. His dad was never around, so it’s just Jean that’s woken up by Eren’s ridiculous call. (Well, Jean and a few disgruntled neighbors.)

He figures that sleep overrules an acquaintance he hasn’t seen in nearly a year, so he grabs the curtains. “Whatever it is,” he says, as quietly as he can while still loud enough for Eren to hear down on the pavement, “it can wait ‘til morning.” He pulls the curtains closed with no remorse.

Blinking blearily, he finally sinks onto his mattress, eyes fluttering close.

Until he hears a tapping at his window.

Is he fucking throwing stones at his window? Oh, my god. What age is he? Cursing again, Jean all but throws himself out of bed, throws open the curtains, is about to pull the damn window closed when-

“Holy shit!” he jumps back, not expecting to see Eren perching on his windowsill. He nearly has a heart attack. “What the fuck?”

“Climbed up the drainage pipe,” Eren says, with a casual shrug of his shoulders, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Jean isn’t impressed. He also knows that Eren isn’t even _trying_ to impress him. Asshole. “Can I come in?” the brunet asks.

Jean is loath to let him into his horribly messy room in the early hours of the morning, but the thought of him slipping from where he was crouching… “Fine. Get your ass in, so then I can kick it back out again.”

 Eren laughs, slipping in through the open window. Once on two feet again, he brushes imaginary dust off of his shirt.

It’s just then that Jean realizes he’s fully dressed; jeans, tatty converse, and a faded graphic tee. His hair even looks brushed. Jean, on the other hand, is in nothing but boxers and worn pajama pants, and his hair sticking up at all angles. If it was anyone else, he would have felt self-conscious. Not with Eren, though; they’ve never been the best of friends, but he’s never felt painfully self-aware or self-conscious with him.

“You better have a fucking good reason to be waking me up at two am in the damn morning,” he says.

Eren grins widely. “I want to go see the ocean. Come with me.”

Jean’s eyes widen. “Hold up for a second.” They were in Trost at the moment; a completely landlocked state. To get to the ocean, they’d have to first do the seven hour drive to Shiganshina – which would probably take considerably longer due to the fact that summer vacations were just starting up and the roads would be packed – and then from Shiganshina, it would take another good few hours to get to the damn beach. “You come to my house at two am, wake me and several of my neighbors up rather abruptly, climb through my bedroom window, and propose a fucking trip to see the ocean, with me; who’ve you’ve seen like, once, in the last year.”

Silence hangs in the air, heavy for a moment. “Yep!” says Eren, nodding as if there was nothing strange about that in the slightest.

Jean stares.

“Pack your bag,” Eren says. “We’ll probably stay the night somewhere. So bring a change of clothes, and all the shit you need. Oh, and food; I didn’t bring any. And cash; we’ll need to stop for gas and-”

“Why me?” he blurts.

Eren looks at him, bright eyes widening slightly. “Why you?”

“Yeah. Why not Mikasa, or Armin?”

“I’ve seen them all year. I haven’t seen you since last summer.”

“Doesn’t that make it even less reasonable to show up in my room and proposing a goddamn road trip?”

Eren shrugs, turning away slightly, as if he hasn’t thought about it. “I guess I missed you,” he says, voice slightly lower in volume. Jean feels as if he’s been slapped, most of his fatigue melting. How does he respond to that? “Missed having an asshole like you around, that is. College was so weird; I didn’t actually have someone yelling in my ear the whole time.” Eren laughs it off. Jean feels sort of disappointed.

But he can’t hide the fact that he wants to go.

Eren may be a hotheaded, dumbass prick, but he’s…electric. It’s hard not to let his enthusiasm infect and take over you (although Jean tries), and his laughter and good spirits are contagious (his foul moods are contagious too. Jean decides not to think about those yet, though.)

They’ve always clashed, but Jean can’t quite deny the fact that everything seemed a little…subdued without Eren around. Not to mention, their last meeting still left a bitter taste on his tongue. Eren seems to be past it though; maybe this is a chance to make amends on both sides.

“If I say yes,” he begins slowly. Eren’s shoulders immediately perk up. “Can we at least wait a few hours? It’s not even two thirty in the fucking morning.”

“Nah,” Eren says, shit-eating grin in place. “I’ve it timed out; I want to have left here by three a.m.”

“Why?” is all Jean can ask.

Eren shrugs. “Slept all day, woke up five hours ago. Still wide awake, and I want to do something, I want to go and see it as soon as possible.” For the first time, Jean notices how restless and fidgety Eren is. Figures; he’s been on vacation longer than Jean has, and he knows from experience that it’s impossible to keep him still. He was probably bouncing on the walls cooped up at home. “I’ll drive,” he offers. “You can sleep in the car for the first few hours.”

Hours and hours in a confined space with Eren, who he’s bound to fight or argue with, when he’s grumpy and sleepy. If Jean fucking listened to his logical mind, he would know it’s a terrible idea, one they’re both going to regret in the long run.

Instead, he finds himself sighing; still pretending that he doesn’t want to go very much. “Fine,” he says. “Get out of my room so I can get dressed.”

He has no idea what he’s gotten himself into.

 

deux

He wakes up a few hours later with his hood pulled up and an annoying crick in his neck. That’s what he gets for sleeping with his head against the window, he supposes. Still; by Jean’s judgment it’s still far too early; he could do with another hour or two with sleep. But the sun has annoyingly decided that it’s time to wake up, and has begun to peek above the horizon. The dark sky is getting lighter; pinks and oranges dotting the morning.  Jean grudgingly admits that it’s pretty.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” says Eren to his left. Jean grunts in response. The older male doesn’t look tired in the slightest; rather the opposite. Remembering what he agreed to is giving Jean a mild headache.

He takes the opportunity to examine Eren. It’s been so long since he’s seen him properly. The last time they saw each other, it wasn’t exactly on the best of terms. Since then, the most he’s seen of him has been Facebook selfies, brief meetings when they’re both home for breaks, and an awkward meeting at a party three, no four nights ago. No wonder Jean had been so surprised when he suggested this out of the blue day trip.

His hair has grown longer, dark tresses almost falling into his eyes. His eyes are the same as ever though; bright and burning even when he’s calm. He looks older, more mature though; like he’s finally fucking grown up. Still has that smug, shit-eating grin though. Jean sighs. He looks good, better than he remembered.

Eren glances at Jean, grinning slightly when he catches him staring. Jean looks away.

“Still have that dumb haircut,” Eren comments, and Jean can hear the grin in his voice.

“Fuck you,” Jean says immediately, hand coming up to shove Eren’s shoulder lightly. “It looks great.”

“It looks _dumb_.”

“Clearly, you have no taste.”

“That must be true, seeing as I’m hanging out with _you_.”

They look at each other for a moment. The tension in the vehicle dissolves, and they both start laughing. “Eyes on the damn road, Jaeger,” Jean manages between laughs. It feels as if a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. He’s beginning to realize that no matter how awkward they left things, it’s not the same anymore.

He relaxes a little more into the car seat.

“It’s still really early,” Eren says, adjusting the rear-view mirror slightly. “But I’m fucking starving. If memory serves, there should be a twenty-four hour diner coming up soon. And I could use a break from driving, anyway.”

Jean just nods, feeling his own stomach rumble. He checks his watch; it’s about six am. His mom should be getting home soon. He hopes she’ll find the note he left her, so she doesn’t freak out about his sudden disappearance.

“I can drive for a while, if you want.” As far as he’s concerned, the fucker beside him should drive all the way, as payment for dragging Jean on this in the first place. That said, Jean doesn’t particularly want to die when Eren falls asleep on the wheel and crashes the fucking car.

“Nah,” he says. “I’ll be fine for a few hours. Shit- there it is!”

He pulls into a shifty looking twenty-four hour diner, and before Jean can comment, he’s out of the car, marching towards the establishment. Jean grins a little bit as he follows him in.

Eren orders a huge breakfast; so much food that doesn’t even look that appetizing. It makes Jean feel a little sick. He just orders toast and coffee. The coffee tastes like muck mixed with dirty water, but he chokes it down anyway.

Eren tucks into his food with gusto.

“Jesus,” Jean says, nibbling on his toast. “Have you not like, eaten in a week?”

He doesn’t hear Eren’s reply because his mouth is full. Crumbs spray onto Jean – he wipes them away quickly, making a face. “You’re gross.”

Eren grins, laughs, and begins choking on his food.

“Shit,” Jean says, freezing in his seat. Eren’s hacking, struggling to swallow his food, struggling to breathe. His face is going red. “Shit, man-”

He’s about to jump over and start giving him the Heimlich maneuver when Eren suddenly manages to choke down his food and breathe.

Jean falls back into his chair. “How the fuck,” he says slowly, “have you managed to survive this long? You’re like a fucking train wreck. A disaster walking.”

Eren grins. “Now you know why Mikasa never left my side when we were kids.” He begins to eat again, but slower, much to Jean’s relief.

“How is she?” Jean asks, wistfully remembering his beautiful childhood crush.

Eren snorts. “It’s Mikasa,” he says. “Of course she’s fine. She’s top of her class, of course. Armin’s top of his, too. Fuckin’ geniuses.”

Jean smiles. He hasn’t seen them in a while, either. Hasn’t seen much of any of the old crew, for that matter. Most of them went to college in Trost or somewhere relatively close. Jean was the only one who went far away. Talking about them again, he wishes he hadn’t.

They sit in a comfortable silence for the rest of the meal. Eren agrees that the coffee is shit, but refuses to back down on the fact that they make the best scrambled eggs. Jean says that he’ll never know, because after seeing them chewed up in Jaeger’s mouth, he never wants to eat an egg again.

 

trois

He slept for another hour or two. Eren promised to wake him up after a few more hours of sleep, promised to switch with him then. Jean isn’t going to object to more sleep.

When he wakes up, he’s too warm, and too sweaty, and the car is too stuffy. He’s thirsty too, and is thankful he packed some water in a dumb cooler bag that’s in the car trunk.

Eren doesn’t say anything as he sits up. Glances at his watch; it’s almost eleven now.

The drive from Trost to Shiganshina takes seven hours, give or take. They left Jean’s house shortly before three am, and stopped for almost an hour. So, he thinks they should nearly be there now! He feels kind of bad for letting Eren drive all of the way.

He turns to the boy in the driver’s seat again. “Nice bedhead.” Jean laughs, flattening his hair. It doesn’t work. “Don’t bother,” Eren says. “Flat or spikey, it still looks dumb.”

Jean barks a laugh. “You’re hardly in a position to criticize my appearance.” He rolled down his car window, sighing in relief as the cool breeze whipped by. The road was practically deserted right now; Jean couldn’t see another car. Alone together, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

Eren sniggered. “Horse face.”

Jean rolled his eyes. “Dog.”

“Hey! I’m not a-”

A groaning noise emitted from the engine. Jean froze.

“Fuck, no,” said Eren, as the car engine began to make disturbing noises.

“Pull over,” Jean said, the car beginning to slow down. Eren did so without complaint, just as the engine completely failed.

He turned the key in the ignition, trying to start it up again. Nothing.

He tried a few more times; the car didn’t fucking come back to life.

Eren rested his forehead against the wheel of the car. “Fuck my life,” he said.

They got out of the car, opened up the hood. Unfortunately, neither Jean nor Eren knew shit about cars. They looked under the hood, looked at each other, and got back into the car.

It was really beginning to get hot now.

Jean rang a mechanic, who said they’d tow the car to their garage. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to get there until one. Jean sighed, grabbing two bottles of water from the cooler bag. The day was stifling now, and he gulped the water down thankfully.

“This,” he says, wiping his hand with the back of his hand. “Is so fucking typical.”

Eren laughs in agreement.

 

quatre

They fell into amiable conversation for a while, continuously dotted with teasing and insults. It’s not as bad as Jean thought, despite the stifling heat. It feels like he’s back in his senior year again, hanging out with Eren in his basement after practice. It’s a different type of friendship, he notes; not like he is with his other friends. More open, more honest; they don’t hide under false impressions or acts. They come to each other as they are, and they accept each other as they are.

After a while, Jean asks him. “How’s college?”

He’s not sure if Eren actually tenses up, or if he’s imagining it. It was so brief he thinks it might have been the latter. “Good. Great! Found some new guys to play with. Third years. Kinda weird playing with them though. Auruo’s a great guitarist, but I don’t know. He’s different from you.” His voice sounds a little strained, sad almost. Jean fights down the wave of nostalgia. “And Erd has a nice voice, but he’s nothing on you.”

Is he imagining the wistful tone of Eren’s voice?

Jean swallows tightly, looking out of the window.

Eren sighs beside him. “I don’t get it,” he says, shaking his head. “What’s it you’re studying now?”

Jean’s throat is dry, and not just because of the heat. “Law,” he croaks.

He almost laughs. “Law. In fucking Sina University.” He shakes his head. “What happened to going to Karanese and studying music? That’s what we were going to do. Keep playing together, and study music together. It was what we both wanted – why did you apply for law of all things?” His voice is getting louder.

Jean closes his eyes, leaning back in his seat. “I don’t want to talk about this,” he says.

“Yeah? Well I do. I know for a fact you had your heart set on music at Karanese. Why did you throw it away?”

He grits his teeth, opening his eyes to finally meet Eren’s gaze. “I have my reasons,” he says.

“Good. They’re exactly what I want to hear.”

“They’re none of your damn business.”

“Really? I think they are. We had so many plans, we were gonna keep playing together and –”

“You’ve made your _point_ , Eren,” he hisses

They sit in silence for a few minutes. It’s a heavy silence, an angry silence.

After a moment, Eren breaks it. “Are you even interested in law?”

No. That’s the answer; Jean finds it boring. Still, a degree in music isn’t going to guarantee money. Making it as a lawyer will be hard, Jean knows. But in the end, it’ll be worth it. His silence is enough of an answer for Eren.

“Majority of the students at Karanese don’t have half of your talent. For fucks’ sake Jean; if you don’t even like law, why did you do it? It’s clear you’re unhappy.”

“What?”

Eren rolls his bright eyes. “You’re way more subdued than you usually are. And tired; not like, sleepy, more like you’re fed up of everything. It’s clear you’re unhappy, a blind man would be able to tell that.”

Jean sighs again, resting his elbows on his knees, and his forehead on hands. It stings, because he knows it’s true. When did Eren become so perceptive? “Not everyone can follow a whim of a dream, Eren,” he says quietly. “Sometimes, you need to think about what’s practical first.”

“So practicality over happiness, when you’re not even going to try?” He sounds angry, now.

“C’mon Eren, look me in the eye and name someone who followed their dreams and is happy because of it.”

He feels the brunet’s eyes on him, so he straightens up and faces him. “Me,” Eren says, deadpan.

“You don’t look very happy now,” Jean comments.

It’s Eren’s turn to sigh. He leans back, studying Jean for a moment. His gaze is so intense that Jean fidgets under it. “I wonder why,” he says, somewhat bitterly. “I thought- me and you, I thought we-” he cuts himself off. “You know what? It doesn’t matter now.”

“Ere-”

“I’m going to sleep.” He curls up in his seat, turning away from Jean and leaning against the window. “Wake me up when the tow-truck gets here.”

 

cinq

The tow truck arrived a few minutes after one in the afternoon. Jean shakes Eren awake, and they climb into the front seat. The hour long drive to Shiganshina is awkward, their argument having left a bitter taste in the air.

The mechanic quickly determines that it’s a simple problem to fix, but the car probably won’t be ready until tomorrow. He leaves them to discuss what they want to do.

“We can find a way out to Maria ourselves,” Jean muses. “A bus, or we can rent bikes, or something. Spend the night there, come back to Shiganshina in the morning, pick up the car, and go home.”

Eren sighs beside him. “You don’t have to keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“This. We can go home, if you want. Leave all this bullshit about the ocean behind.”

Jean surprises himself by quickly responding; “it’s not bullshit.”

Eren looks at him, surprised. “I want to go now,” Jean continues. “We’ve come this far, might as well go the whole way, am I right?”

It takes a moment. But after a few minutes, Eren slowly grins. “Knew you’d warm up to the idea,” he says, with a shrug.

“Decided?”

“Decided.”

They stand for a second. “Sorry about what I said,” Jean says, scratching his neck earlier.

Eren sighs, shaking his head dismissively. “Me too. I think.”

“Eren!” comes another voice. “Oi, Eren!”

They look from where they’re standing outside the garage and across the street. In a beat up pick-up truck across the street, sat an older, blond man.

Eren’s face lights up immediately. “Hannes!” He tears across the street, much to Jean’s alarm. The older man – Hannes – climbs out of his truck, enveloping Eren in a bear hug. Jean crosses the street, watching the exchange with a soft smile.

Eren’s so excited to see this man – whoever he is. “Oh, right,” Eren remembers. “Hannes, this asshole-” he grabs Jean’s arm, pulling him closer. “Is Jean.”

Hannes grins, shaking Jean’s hand. “New boyfriend, Eren?”

Jean opens his mouth once or twice like a fish. Eren just laughs. “Told you about him before, remember?” Eren says. “Used to play guitar with him.”

Hannes nods. “Ah, that Jean!” he says. Jean looks from one to the other, confused. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Eren’s said a lot about you.”

“Whatever he said, none of it’s true,” Jean says quickly. Hannes laughs when Eren gives him a playful push.

“So,” he says, leaning against his truck. “What are you guys doing in Shiganshina?”

“Passing through,” Eren replies. “We were heading to Maria, but our car broke down. We’re still gonna go, we just need to find a way to get there.”

Hannes grins even wider. “S’your lucky day, kids,” he says, patting the back of his truck. “Was just about to head on my way to deliver some stuff to a shop in Maria.” Now that he said it, Jean noticed the few crates in the back of the truck. “I’d be happy to give you a lift. There mightn’t be room in the front, but you could sit in the back. The crates don’t take up _too_ much room.”

Eren arched an eyebrow. “Ride in the back of a pick-up truck? Is that even legal?”

Hannes shrugged. “Maria is tiny,” he said. “Barely anyone will be on the same route as us. I doubt anyone will notice or care if I’m giving two kids a lift.”

They glanced at each other, and Jean recognized the mischief in Eren’s eyes. “Let’s do it,” Jean said, grinning as he elbowed Eren softly in the side.

 

six

Eren tells him that Hannes is a friend of his parents. Thinking back, Jean remembers that Eren lived in Shiganshina as a kid, before moving to Trost.

It’s four o’ clock, now, and the heat has died a little. As they sit in the truck, a cool breeze whips up, making it bearable. At first, Eren shouts a conversation with Hannes, before eventually taking a nap. With all of the crates of whatever Hannes is delivering, there’s just enough room for him to lie down, and for Jean to sit, and for their bags to stay onboard.

He pulls out his iPod, enjoying the warmth and listening to music as he watches Eren sleep. He looks younger, softer, when he’s asleep. His face relaxes, any tension and determination washes from it.

Jean’s tired, but not sleepy. He lets himself relax; the trip to Maria will take a few hours. The song he’s listening to finishes, the next track that comes on is the song they played at the battle of the bands last year. He smiles at the memory; playing on stage with Eren and some of their other friends; the sound – no, _feeling_ of music pumping through him, the rush of excitement and adrenaline-

Even now, he remembers the exhilarating feeling as if it were yesterday. It just felt so – _electric_ , as if so much had boiled down to that one moment, when it was just him, his friends, and the music that mattered.

It makes him miss it; miss the feeling of a sore throat from singing too loudly, miss the feeling of sore fingertips from playing guitar, miss the comfortable atmosphere between him and Eren when they would hang out after a practice – any real animosity long since bled dry.

He had promised Eren they would still play together. They were going to go to Karanese’s Academy of Music, follow their dreams together…until Jean dropped from it last minute, going to Sina for law instead.

No wonder he seemed unhappy to Eren.

“Why the long face, horse face?” Jean blinks, looking down. Eren sits up beside him, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “It’s even longer than usual.”

Jean smiles a little, shaking his head. “S’nothing.”

Eren clearly doesn’t believe him, but he rolls his eyes and moves on from it, gesturing to the iPod resting on Jean’s lap. “What were you listening to?” he asks.

Jean shrugs, about to answer when Eren interrupts. “Sing for me,” he says. It’s not a request, it’s a demand. He looks at him expectantly, hair glinting bright in the late afternoon sun.

“What?”

“You heard me.” He leans back, so their shoulders are brushing against each other. “I miss the sound of your voice.”

Something flutters deep within Jean.

“C’mon,” Eren says. “You’ve one of the nicest singing voices I’ve heard. And I don’t compliment people often, so the least you can do is sing me a damn song.”

Despite himself, Jean chuckles. “What will I sing?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know! Anything!”

Jean laughs at Eren’s impatience, shifting a little closer to him. He hasn’t sung in so long. His eyes slipped shut. He opened his mouth, and sang.

 

sept

Eren was quiet for a few moments. “You still sing better than most fuckers I know,” he said quietly.

“Thanks.”

Eren sighs heavily. Jean slowly opens his eyes.

 “I got accepted, you know,” he says quietly. “I got a place at Karanese.”

He feels Eren stiffen up beside him. “Then why-”

“Music is a tough field,” Jean continued before Eren could get a word in. “It’s difficult to make a career out of it, difficult to get money out of it.” A deep breath. “Mom’s getting older, so is my sister. And I want to be able to make sure they’re okay, down the line. If I can get into law, it’s something that will pay well…” he trails off. Eren got the picture, surely.

“Financial security, huh?” Eren snorts. “I can understand wanting to help support your family, but I can’t understand living your life purely for someone else, and throwing away your dreams.”

“I wasn’t asking you to understand.”

“I know.”

“I just thought you should know my reasons.”

“I know that too.”

Huh. Figures. Eren always got him better than most people did. Always had, even years ago, when they disliked each other.

“I’m sorry,” he says after a few moments in silence. “For leaving when I said I wouldn’t. And not explaining why.”

Eren’s smile is a little sad. “I know that too,” he says again. He takes a deep breath, and looks up at the sky. “If anything, I’m thankful that we did this. It’s good to see you again. I missed you.” His hand reaches to grasp Jean’s wrist.

Jean slips his fingers in between Eren’s. “I know,” he says, looking up at the sky too. “I missed you too.”

A silence falls over them, and Jean can’t help but remember another memory with Eren. After they had won battle of the bands, and finally had a minute alone with each other. He remembered the way Eren’s eyes were even more vibrant, lit up with passion and excitement and a hundred other things. He remembered the way they embraced, pulling each other into bear hugs. He remembered the way they had lingered, practically nose to nose. The atmosphere had changed, moving from joy and triumph to…something else. He remembered the way they had inched closer and closer, and were barely a millimeter apart from Mikasa came in.

 Remembered the way Eren quickly jumped away, waving and shooting a “later” before leaving.

“Hey, Eren,” Jean says, but he shuts up when he looks at the boy beside him. He’s sleeping; shoulders slumped, facial expression relaxing again. It’s not even six yet, but he stayed up most of the night. No wonder he’s sleeping now.

Jean smiles, says nothing, and lets him sleep.

He doesn’t let go of his hand.

 

huit

Hannes drops them off at Maria around eight. Maria is a tiny little fishing village, quaint and picturesque. Jean hadn’t even known of its existence before Eren proposed this mad trip. With its neat village, harbor, pier and beach, it’s the perfect place for their dose of the ocean.  

The sun is beginning to make its descent towards the horizon, and the golden hues glisten off the waves. As they stand on the beach, they can see sailboats in the distance, a row of cliffs extending into the sea on one side. The smell of salt is strong in the air; the ocean air is refreshing. It’s warm, but not stifling hot, and a cool breeze plays with their hair.

They stand there for a few moments, shoes off and toes digging into the sand. They’re holding hands; Jean’s not sure why, but if feels natural. It feels right. He should hold Eren’s hand more.

Everything right then is beautiful; the scene, the person beside him, the moment. Jean wishes he could freeze it; spend forever looking out at the beauty of the ocean with Eren. He’s never quite understood Eren’s love for the ocean; Jean’s seen it plenty of times before but hasn’t exactly fallen in love with it, unlike the other. Now, for the first time, he thinks he’s beginning to understand it.

They stand still and silent for a few moments. Eventually Eren speaks. “Race you to the ocean.”

“Hell no. I’m not getting in.”

“Why not?”

“Never planned to. Did you see me pack a fuckin’ swimsuit?”

“Who said you needed a swimsuit?”

“I’m not getting these jeans soaking wet, Jaeger.”

“Alright. Skinny dipping then.”

“Way to ruin a nice moment.”

“Always.”

“Y’know, I was gon- _whoa_ , what the fuck are you doing – Eren!”

When Eren bent and scooped Jean into his arms bridal style, Jean shrieked. He knew Eren was strong – he had been on the receiving end of his punches before, after all – but he hadn’t expected the smaller to be able to fucking lift him like he weighed nothing!

Eren grinned at him. “Hope you’re not afraid to get a little wet, Kirschtein.”

“No. Fuck, no.”

Eren began to run towards the waves, holding Jean tightly to his chest. He wrapped his arms around Eren’s neck, hanging on for dear life.

“Put! Me! Down!” Jean protested, but he was laughing at the same time.

The waves began to lick up Eren’s jeans, but he kept wading in. A wave splashed up, water splashing Jean’s back. He shrieked again, Eren laughed even louder.

Eren slowed when he was waist deep.

Jean glared at him. “If you drop me, I swear t-”

Eren let go of him, and Jean toppled into the water. The saltwater crashed around him, and he gulped a mouthful of it before he managed to stand up properly. Eren was probably going to piss himself, he was laughing so hard.

Jean couldn’t help but to grin, seeing his laughing face painted in the golds cast by the setting sun.

“You asked for it, Jaeger,” he said, splashing him.

They spent the next hour frolicking in the water, before they decided they were starving. The waded into the shallows. An indescribable light feeling was filling Jean’s chest; a sort of light-hearted, carefree happiness he hadn’t felt in a while.

Eren must have that effect on him.

He shook his head like a dog, shaking some of the water from it. They were still knee-high in the water when Eren grabbed his upper arm. “Yeah?” Jean asked, turning around to face the brunet.

For the second time that evening, he felt Eren’s hands on him. This time, on the collar of his sodden shirt, yanking him forwards. His lips crashed against his own. It took a minute for his brain to catch up with his body, struggling with the fact that Eren Jaeger was _kissing_ him.

When his brain did catch up, he did what was only natural; he kissed him back. The fingers of one hand tangled in his wet, dark hair, while the other hand rested gently on his shoulder. There was nothing graceful about the kiss; it was clumsy and sloppy, with a little too much force behind it. Jean didn’t care though; Eren kissing any way differently seemed wrong.

They broke apart reluctantly. Although they broke the kiss, their hands remained where they were.

This moment, Jean thought, was even more beautiful than the one before.

Amber eyes met emerald, and they just looked at each other for a few moments, matching grins slowly spreading.

“I’ve waited a year to do that,” Eren said, hands moving from Jean’s collar to his shoulders.

Jean grinned, leaning in again. “Idiot. You should have done it the second I let you in through my bedroom window.”

Eren laughed in agreement.

Above, the sky was rapidly darkening. The light pollution wasn’t nearly as strong here as it was in Trost, Jean noticed. The stars shone much brighter here.

**Author's Note:**

> a day late oop
> 
> [JeanEren Week hell ye](http://jeanerenweek.tumblr.com/)   
> [find me at tumblr dot com](http://gaaradical.tumblr.com)   
> [find my writing related posts at tumblr dot com](http://suppportingcharacters.tumblr.com)


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